Chris Torres Turns In Career-Long Start, Striking Out Six to Lead Baseball in Series Opener at Presbyterian

Friday, May 8

Clinton, S.C.

6:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

23-27, 0

Presbyterian

11-39, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
USC Upstate	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	0	5	7	1
Presbyterian	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	6	9	1

Chris Torres 4th Inn. vs. Presbyterian Gm 1 2026 - RF

Photo by: Ryan Frye

5/8/2026 11:02:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

CLINTON, S.C. – Starting its final Big South Conference series of the season as it seeks to solidify its spot in the league standings, USC Upstate baseball dropped a heartbreaker Friday evening against Presbyterian, succumbing to a walk-off in a 6-5 decision.

Setting the tone for the Spartans, junior left-handed pitcher Chris Torres tied his career-long, turning in 7.0 innings of three-hit, one-run baseball. In his third quality start of the campaign, he finished a strikeout shy of his season high with six strikeouts on the night against no walks.

Torres held the Blue Hose off the scoreboard until his final frame, allowing Upstate to stake a 2-0 lead into the home half of the seventh. The Spartans immediately answered the run surrendered to Presbyterian in the seventh with three runs of their own in the eighth, building a 5-1 lead. The Blue Hose, however, chipped away at the lead, scoring five runs over their final two innings.

Redshirt freshman centerfielder Trey Bentley paced the Spartans in the RBI column, notching the team's lone multi-RBI game with a pair of sac flies—the most from a Spartan in a single game since Vance Sheahan tallied two against Longwood on May 3, 2025. Hitting from the top of the order, redshirt sophomore shortstop Maloy Heaghney and redshirt sophomore rightfielder Henry Zenor picked up two hits apiece, their 16^th and 26^th multi-hit games of the year, respectively.

Game Information
Score: Presbyterian 6; USC Upstate 5
Records: USC Upstate (23-27; 11-11 Big South); Presbyterian (11-39; 7-12 Big South)
Location: Elton Pollock Field at the PC Baseball Complex | Clinton, S.C.

How It Happened

T4: Following a pair of hits from Henry Zenor and Maloy Heaghney and a walk issued to Johnny Sweeney, Upstate struck first as Trey Bentley lofted a sac fly to left, scoring Zenor from third.
T5: Taking advantage of a Blue Hose miscue, Alex Ritzer raced home to score from second on a dropped pop-up behind the bag at third with two outs.
B7: Getting a run back for Presbyterian, Jonathan Williams slugged a solo shot to leftfield, cutting the Spartans' advantage in half.
T8: Answering the run allowed in the prior half inning, Upstate scratched three tallies in the eighth. Heaghney plated the first, scoring Zenor with a gap-splitting double to right-center. He'd later score as Tyler Lang ripped a single through the left side of the infield. Lang crossed for the frame's final run, scoring on a sac fly from Bentley.
B8: Responding to Upstate's largest scoring inning of the day, the Blue Hose countered with two runs of its own in the stanza. Andrew Albertus drove home the first with a groundout to second before Bo Moody brought home a run with a single to center.
B9: Fighting back to tie the game, Presbyterian plated a pair of runs behind a triple from Emory Guilford and a single from Cam Mallo. The Blue Hose executed a squeeze play to break the tie and earn the walk-off win.

Notable

Collecting a pair of sac flies, Trey Bentley became the first Spartan since Vance Sheahan on May 3, 2025, versus Longwood with multiple sac flies in the same game.
On the base paths, Upstate swiped five stolen bases Friday. The total stands as the most in a single game for the team since stealing a season-best seven bags against Radford on April 3.

Connect with the Spartans
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YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans

TICKETS ON-SALE FOR SPARTY'S BALL – MAY 15^th
Support USC Upstate student-athletes at Sparty's Ball, the largest fundraising event of the year for the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF), to be held Friday, May 15, 2025, at The Piedmont Club. For tickets, sponsorship, and auction information, click here!